


Three Brothers

by RedJusticeLibra



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 13:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5587897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedJusticeLibra/pseuds/RedJusticeLibra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Three brothers were traveling along a lonely winding road at twilight..." The Tale of Three Brothers re-written with the Nordics because it works better than it should.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello world! This is my first post on this site although I do have a fanfiction account on which I have posted other works on, including this one. I may cross post some of my other stories later, but for now this is all you get. This work will not be the exact same as the other as I proofread it, (seriously, did I even read through it before I posted last time?!?) Also since it is told in the same style as the original story some lines will be the same because they are too iconic not to include. I hope you enjoy Three Brothers 2.0!

There once were three brothers traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. They traveled on and on, until around midnight, when they came to a river too deep to cross. They could not safely swim, or wade across. The brothers, however, where very skilled in magic. All they had to do to get across was wave their wands and make a bridge appear and cross.

In theory it is a very simple task to accomplish. It was made complicated by a dark figure that blocked their path. They were halfway to the other side when death appeared.

Death was angered by the brothers. He felt cheated for travelers normally drowned in the river instead, the brothers, using their magic, had cheated Death out of a new victim. However, Death was smart and cunning. He masked his anger, and instead pretended to congratulate the brothers for evading him. He offered them each a prize, the thing their hearts most desired.

Matthias, the eldest brother was a very combative man. He prized himself on his excellent dueling skills. He asked death for a wand more powerful than any other, one that would always win duels; it would be fitting for someone who had cheated death.

Death granted Matthias his wish. He crossed to the other bank where an elder tree was growing and fashioned a wand. Death then returned to the brothers and gave Matthias his prize and turned to silently ask the middle brother, Berwald, what it was his heart desired.

Berwald was very unlike his elder brother. He did not wish for great power and personal gain. He was heartsick, and wished to be reunited with the one he loved. He politely asked Death for the power to recall others from death. And so, Death picked up a stone from the riverside and gave it to Berwald. He told him that the stone contained the power to bring others back from the dead.

Now only the youngest brother, Lukas, remained. He was wiser than his brothers and unblinded by personal desires; he did not trust Death. He knew that Death was never one to be kind and came to the conclusion that Death must have an ulterior motive. Lukas wanted to stay out of whatever Death had planned. He asked Death for an item that would allow him to go forth from this encounter and not be followed. Grudgingly Death handed over part of his own Cloak of Invisibility.

Death then stood aside and let the brothers continue on their way. They continued to walk and admire their gifts, until the time came for them to part ways.

Matthias traveled on for a week more. And upon reaching a distant village sought out Ludwig, another wizard with whom he had once fought. With the Elder Wand as his weapon, there was no way he would have lost the ensuing duel. He left his opponent lying dead on the floor and went to a nearby inn. There, under the influence of alcohol, he boasted about the wand he had taken from Death and how it had made him invincible.

Later that night, another wizard, Ivan, eager to have that power to himself crept into Matthias’s room and took the wand. He slit his throat for good measure and disappeared into the night.

And so Death took the first brother.

Meanwhile, Berwald had been traveling to his own home where he lived alone. Once home, he took out the stone given to him by Death and turned it over three times in his hand. To Berwald’s great delight, the figure of the man he had once wished to marry, before his untimely death in a sleigh accident, appeared.

Though, things weren't all that they seemed. Tino was sad and cold, separated from Berwald as if by a curtain of mist. Tino had returned to the mortal world, but did not truly belong there and suffered because of it. Berwald longed for the happy, smiling Tino he once knew. Finally, driven mad with longing, Berwald killed himself as to fully be with his love again.

And so Death took the second brother.

Lukas took his cloak and went on to live his life. Death searched and searched, but no matter where he looked he could not find the youngest brother. Only when Lukas had reached a great age did he take off the Cloak of Invisibility and give it to his son, Emil. He then greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, departing this life as equals.


End file.
